Campagn 3: Rescue

 

The Archon entered the conference room, his frustration overtly obvious. He did not like to lose. He was unable to recapture the slave, and it maddened him to the point that he was actually looking forward to severe punishment this time, not just saying it. He was tired of failing his Emperor. His report:

A.S.: How that trifling wench of a Callidus Assassin escaped my grasp in inexcusable. Even if I was meeting with Lord Scarab at the time of her escape. I tried to recapture her, without success. It would seem that the Scarlet Warlord recruited help in order to help her find her assassin. How the Scarlet Warlord made contact with the assassin was beyond me. We had intercepted part of a transmission, but they detected our presence and cut the conversation short. What was known by both sides was that there was a homing beacon somewhere on Rool, but where it was eluded both sides. The Callidus' description fit at least six different locations. As we searched for the beacon, we learned that the Scarlet Warlord recruited the help of the infamous Inquisitor Donte. They all moved with speed that is unnatural in humans, and our trackers found that Donte found the beacon with ease. Sybarite Xhosha lost his entire unit in a sad attempt to catch Donte. In contrast, the Scourges lost their Sybarite but somehow found cover off in the hills. The Obsidian Knights, zealously chased Donte as he returned to his tank and retreated and were obliterated by the tank. Edea herself fell to the tank itself. Even in death she was incredible. Meanwhile, our Raiders proved to be ineffective once again. This time, it was the gunner that outright missed his target.

J.E.: It would appear that our Raider crew needs some work. After severe punishment. See to it.

A.S.: Yes my Lord. I sent three units of troops to flank Inquistor Donte and they were met by a Vindicare Assassin atop a very high plateau. He picked them off one by one. The troops fired hundreds of shots at him and he took them.

J.E.: One guy? No Eldar would ever admit such a thing. Your honesty is refreshing. Proceed.

A.S.: I am of the Liquid Sword. I live for the truth, even if our aim is to hide the truth from everyone else. To conclude the debriefing, the troops made a last ditch effort to get Donte and bring his skull back as a wine jug. They managed to immobilize the tank, which suddenly activated a portal and dissappeared. How could the Scarlet Warrior have known so much about us? It makes no sense.

J.E.: It makes perfect sense. We've been played.

A.S.: Please explain, my Lord.

J.E.: I received a call from Lord Scarab while the battle was taking place. He knew of my wiping out his troops, of looting his secret warehouses, and I'm sure that he knows most of our military strategies by now.

A.S.: But how is this so? We have a traitor in the Kabal of the Liquid Sword?

J.E.: No. The Callidus Assassin. It's obvious to me. She belongs to him. She always has. She allowed herself to be captured in order to learn all about us. Our tactics, our numbers, our immediate plans for the future. When the time was right (while he was meeting with you to negotiate the sale of the Talos components) he contacted the Sisters himself and helped the Callidus Assassin escape. He is probably using her to assassinate key figures within the Sisterhood and then she morphs into said figure until the given identity is no longer useful. Brilliant. In his own way, he expained that we are now even, as he will be more than happy to incorporate my tactics into his own. So don't feel bad. Lord Scarab is just that good. In fact, he has agreed to sell us the warehouses that we have been raiding at a discount. Reasonably, he doesn't need them now that he knows that they are not secure. Nor secret. Good job my Archon. Now, by all means, recuperate and take your frustrations out on your slaves and subordinates...